Peter Swan. On This Day

[@owlstalk]

 

#OnThisDay in 1960, Peter Swan made his England debut in a 3-3 draw with Yugoslavia at Wembley 

[matthefish2002]

A Wednesday Great.

Think he was treated a bit harshly with the betting scandal. 

His book is recommended.

Edited May 11, 2021 by matthefish2002

[DSandersonOWL]

Best and most skilful centre half we have had in last 70 years

Best ever probably

[Pughies Jockstrap]

Just after Id finished playing  I played against him when he was turning out for Johnny Quinns Allstars. I was still pretty fit  but he must have been in late 50s so I tried to run him once or twice. You could not get past him for love nor money just when you thought you'd done him a long leg would snake out and the bloody ball was gone. I can remember thinking christ you must have been some player in your prime. When the ball was nowhere near he would chat to you and give you tips on what to do. He made what was a fruitless afternoon for me a pleasure.

[victorturner]

Playing in front of Springett..it was good time. Springett helped him become the player he was. That was a good team. There were midfielders who got up and down the field, feeding the attackers (McAnearney),  and dispossessing the opposition,  and bringing it forward over the halfway line (Kay)  unlike today 

[Pughies Jockstrap]

Funny you should mention Springett cos Peter was the goalie for the All Stars that day and was a good friend of  mine  and Jack McAnearney , Tom and Jims younger brother and who I played alongside for years played for us.  Phil Henson also guested for us and the All Stars included Jack Whitham,  Trevor nSwift and Richard Finney from the Millers and Ted Hemsley from the Blades.

[Teddy Nickelarse]

Peter Swan was a magnificent centre half before his ban.

[Sefton owl]

4 hours ago, DSandersonOWL said:

Best and most skilful centre half we have had in last 70 years

Best ever probably

 

[Bigaltheowl]

Yes according to the older owls big jack would not have played as many England games if swanny had been around .

[Elderly Owl]

As you know, I’m not one for sticking my neck out, but I think Peter Swan was certainly  the best centre half in the country and probably in Europe in the early sixties. A wonderful talent in a fantastic Wednesday (and England) side. Wednesday’s best centre half until Darren Purse..

 

 

[victorturner]

16 hours ago, Pughies Jockstrap said:

Funny you should mention Springett cos Peter was the goalie for the All Stars that day and was a good friend of  mine  and Jack McAnearney , Tom and Jims younger brother and who I played alongside for years played for us.  Phil Henson also guested for us and the All Stars included Jack Whitham,  Trevor nSwift and Richard Finney from the Millers and Ted Hemsley from the Blades.

Interesting coincidence. Ron Springett was astonishing in his first couple of years. Apart from agility, he had the ability to come out of the goal area and catch difficult crosses. He could catch the ball even when diving. But the most amazing thing was an ability to narrow the angle for any forward coming at him with the ball from wide. After the 1962 World cup, his reputation had dipped and when Ramsey took over, he installed Banks. 

 

Tom McAnearney liked to come forward with the ball and try to place it for an attacker (but sometimes it did not come off and he was not always popular). Our current midfielders rarely do that.

[victorturner]

15 hours ago, Bigaltheowl said:

Yes according to the older owls big jack would not have played as many England games if swanny had been around .

The guy who took Swan's place because of illness in Chile was Maurice Norman in 1962 and he kept his place. When Norman had a badly broken leg in 1965, Jack Charlton got his chance. 

[Pughies Jockstrap]

3 minutes ago, victorturner said:

Interesting coincidence. Ron Springett was astonishing in his first couple of years. Apart from agility, he had the ability to come out of the goal area and catch difficult crosses. He could catch the ball even when diving. But the most amazing thing was an ability to narrow the angle for any forward coming at him with the ball from wide. After the 1962 World cup, his reputation had dipped and when Ramsey took over, he installed Banks. 

 

Tom McAnearney liked to come forward with the ball and try to place it for an attacker (but sometimes it did not come off and he was not always popular). Our current midfielders rarely do that.

Peter was no mean keeper too. Great lad with brilliant sense of humour so sad he was taken early.

[alan48]

My Mum used to come to Hillsboro with us just to see his legs in his very short shorts !

[Buxtongent]

Peter Springett, Ron's brother, was England Amateur goalkeeper before signing for Owls.He was a good keeper, but not up to \Ron's Standard.

Swanny could control the penalty area, but, if a ball came in , there would be one shout from Ron  'Mine!' and it didn't matter who was in the way.

[Blatter]

When Tony Kay was sold to Everton and then Swan was banned I remember saying to my Dad, l’m never going to Hillsborough again, my two favourite players have gone. Needless to say my determination lasted almost a week til the next home match. The first of my many disappointments supporting the Owls.

[Elderly Owl]

7 hours ago, victorturner said:

Interesting coincidence. Ron Springett was astonishing in his first couple of years. Apart from agility, he had the ability to come out of the goal area and catch difficult crosses. He could catch the ball even when diving. But the most amazing thing was an ability to narrow the angle for any forward coming at him with the ball from wide. After the 1962 World cup, his reputation had dipped and when Ramsey took over, he installed Banks. 

 

Tom McAnearney liked to come forward with the ball and try to place it for an attacker (but sometimes it did not come off and he was not always popular). Our current midfielders rarely do that.

It was the loss to France (5-2) as I remember- Ron was made scapegoat and Banks came in as I remember. It was a very long time ago!

[alan48]

Remember that game -- he did have a bit of a poor game , well below his own standards but shouldn't just have been discarded .

[torryowl]

Just now, alan48 said:

Remember that game -- he did have a bit of a poor game , well below his own standards but shouldn't just have been discarded .

banks was the better keeper and ron while he lost his place wasnt totally discarded coz 3 years later he was still part of the world cup squad .......

[alan48]

Yes you're right . Forgot he was part of the world cup squad . Didn't get a game of course and I think only had about 3 or 4 games after the France game .